On Tuesday 12 May in Brussels, the European Commission and Ukraine reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation in the field of education and skills, with a view to Ukraine’s possible accession to the EU.
Ukraine’s future participation in Erasmus+ was also discussed, said the Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu, following another High-Level Dialogue with the Ukrainian Minister of Education, Oksen Lisovyi.
Since 2022, the EU has mobilised over €1.1 billion to support education in Ukraine, including more than €210 million under Erasmus+, which has supported more than 52,000 Ukrainians and distributed 1.5 million textbooks to Ukrainian children.
“Currently, approximately 730,000 Ukrainian children are enrolled in EU schools”. “Our responsibility remains clear: to ensure that these children have access to quality education today, while safeguarding the possibility of their reintegration into Ukraine tomorrow”, she said.
The discussion also focused on skills and vocational training. “The reconstruction of Ukraine will require strong schools, modern vocational training, resilient and innovative universities, as well as people with the right skills”, she went on to say.
The Ukrainian Minister stated that “cooperation between the EU and Ukraine will continue to expand across all levels of education under the Union of Skills (...) (and that) enhanced cooperation will ensure that Ukraine is fully integrated into the European education and skills space”.
Regarding Erasmus+, it was agreed “to continue preparations, including support for the setting up of a National Agency”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)